The Vice President for Public Safety and Emergency Management at Brown University, Rodney Chatman, has been placed on administrative leave in the wake of last week’s deadly shooting on campus, according to Brown University President Christina Paxson. In a letter to the school community, Paxton said, “A thorough After-Action Review is an essential part of any recovery and response following a mass casualty event like the one that has devastated our campus. A review like this is standard. As it takes place, Vice President for Public Safety and Emergency Management Rodney Chatman is on leave, effective immediately. We have engaged Hugh T. Clements, former chief of police of the Providence Police Department, to serve as interim vice president for Public Safety and chief of police while Vice President Chatman is on leave.” The letter also detailed the university’s plan for creating enhanced safety measures during the winter break and before the start of the Spring semester, including a rapid response team and two external reviews of campus safety, policies, procedures, and training. It said the immediate enhancements will be focused on boosting campus patrols, card access expansion, increased security cameras, and more panic alarms. The Department of Education also announced it will review Brown’s response to the shooting by investigating if the school’s security system was up to standards. They are looking into whether the school violated the Clery Act, which “…requires institutions of higher education to meet certain security requirements as a condition of receiving federal student aid.” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in part, “Students deserve to feel safe at school, and every university across this nation must protect their students and be equipped with adequate resources to aid law enforcement.” Brown University said there will be a phased return for students after winter break, and the period of time before the shooting will also be looked into extensively. This all comes as one of the students killed in the college shooting spree that began at Brown University was laid to rest Monday in her home state of Alabama. Ella Cook, 19, was a sophomore majoring in French and Mathematics. She also served as the Vice President of the College Republicans at Brown. Cook was one of two students killed when a gunman opened fire into a classroom December 13. The other student killed in the attack was 18-year-old Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. His family said he was helping a friend prepare for a final exam when he was killed. Investigators identified the shooter as 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente, a former Brown University student. Valente was found dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire on Thursday. Investigators said he took his own life. Federal officials said Valente was also responsible for the shooting and killing of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno Loureiro at his home in Brookline two days after the shooting at Brown University. ...read more read less